


Sweet As Can Be

by wonderlou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Books, Candy, Costumes, Fluff, Halloween, Library, M/M, excessive reading, it's literally nothing but cute fluff, it's not that bad, slight bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 16:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1108949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlou/pseuds/wonderlou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is a possible nerd who loves to read books, and Harry just might happen to be the same when he isn’t throwing kids into trashcans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sweet As Can Be

**Author's Note:**

> First one-shot on ao3. Enjoy :)

The week of Halloween was just as crazy as the day itself. It just so happened to fall on a Friday this year, and since Monday, everyone was dressing up and acting as if they were on drugs. Girls wore the outfits that had the headmaster annoyed and possibly a little intrigued, and guys played pranks on anyone and everyone who was eligible for a good teasing.

Every year, Louis was the one being _tricked_ as opposed to being treated by the pretty girls in his classes dressed as schoolgirls or nurses – the usual, over-the-top, over-feminized outfits. Every day this week had been something different; on Monday Louis’ lunch had been flushed down the toilet, on Tuesday he’d sat in a large puddle of white out, yesterday he’d been pinned down and forced into a dog costume in the boys’ bathroom. The list only went on.

Half of the things he’d experienced weren’t even pranks. Just…bullying.

Louis knew, however, that this was all good fun. Things weren’t nearly as bad on any other week – the football jocks and the hockey team usually left Louis alone. Louis was glad that today was finally Halloween, for he would go back to being alone and unbothered the following Monday.

During lunch, Louis retreated to his favorite place in the shabby school – the library. There, Louis sat down at the little wooden table with his book, sneaking bits of his lunch out of his book bag because there was no eating and drinking allowed.

Louis didn’t know where he considered himself in the social class. According to everyone else, he was a nerd, and Louis didn’t mind that, not really, anyway. He wore glasses and always dressed to impress; sagging jeans and a ripped t-shirt was a big no-no in his book. He read a lot and did his homework the minute he got it, and, well, every once in a while you could find him in his backyard picking flowers. He was quiet and small, with few friends, but all he needed was five-hundred pages in a book to give him company.

It was all okay. Perfect, even. Louis enjoyed his life a lot.

After finishing another chapter in his book, Louis looked up and sighed. The library was very quiet and empty, and Louis loved it. It was decorated a little for Halloween; small orange and black streamers hung from the desk, and a pumpkin bowl full of mints sat on top of the old wood. The librarian waved to him from her chair, and once he pushed his glasses further up the brim of his nose, Louis waved back politely before getting up to renew his novel, for it was due in a day and the boy was not ready to give it up.

The loud squeak of the library door sounded through the small, echoing room, and not a second later, none other than Harry Styles came trampling in with his best mates, the curly haired boy himself holding two large books in his hands.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Clementson. Can I turn in these books?” Harry’s voice was deep and soft like velvet, a soft chuckle to it as he was prodded by his friends, who were obnoxiously telling him to hurry things along so he could meet up with some girl at the lockers.

Harry was someone who Louis would fit into the category of _confusing_. The boy was on the hockey team, the youngest player, and he would be considered a jock. However, Louis found the lad lingering around the hallways often with his teachers, discussing homework and projects that were due soon. Of course, this was only when he wasn’t surrounded by his mates. When they were around, Harry followed their dumbness and obnoxiousness like a lost puppy. With them, he was just as troublesome, leading girls on and throwing nerds into trashcans.

It was a shame, really.

Harry was very, _very_ handsome in Louis’ opinion, with dark, bouncing curls and bright, ocean green eyes. He was tall and lanky and thin and pale, much different from Louis, who was small and curvy and maybe a smidge stubby. Harry was wearing little kitten ears over his haphazard curls – so _that_ was his costume? Just the ears? _How festive_ , Louis thought, even though he wasn’t wearing anything himself.

But, God, Harry looked pretty adorable.

Louis moved out of the way as Harry and his friends approached the desk, and the librarian smiled before taking the books from the lad.

“Harry fucking Styles, hurry up, we’ve to talk to Cher about the party later! And you’ve to talk to Sherry.” The blonde, Irish boy that was behind Harry smirked as he talked, tugging on the white, clean sleeve of Harry’s sweater. Right, the party. Every Halloween the cheerleaders threw a party at the captain’s house. Girls changed into even fewer articles of clothing and guys poured in ready to hit and run. Louis never attended. He was never invited. Even if he was, he wouldn’t want to go.

Louis winced at the curse word and so did Mrs. Clementson, shooting the blonde a glare. “Mr. Horan,” she warned, and from behind the said boy, Zayn the Mysterious Artist snickered quietly. He nudged the boy next to him, who Louis knew well. It was Liam, who had stripped off his backpack and tossed the thing down the hallway this morning.

“I wanted to get another book first, Ni,” Harry murmured, glancing at the bookcases behind Louis almost longingly. “There’s a sequel to the one I just had…”

“Ah, whatever,” Liam grumbled, turning on his heel and starting for the exit of the library. “Catch up with us, Harry. We’ll be in the courtyard.”

With a dimpled smile, Harry nodded, waving at his friends’ backs as they left.

Louis cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck. He began to go back to his seat; he’d renew his book later, he didn’t want to butt in, he was nervous enough from Harry and his friends, he–

“Louis? Would you mind putting this book back where it belongs? The one I have now is one that a student wanted me to hold for her.” The librarian’s voice was sweet and appreciative when Louis took Harry’s returned book from her, looking at the front of it for the author’s name before starting off to the shelves that were in alphabetical order. He knew Harry was following him but he didn’t look back. He didn’t need any of Harry’s troublemaker personalities to rub off anywhere near him.

“Is this where the sequel would be?” Harry asked suddenly, his deep voice ringing through Louis’ ears. Harry was speaking directly to him, wasn’t he? Louis hadn’t ever been spoken to so _politely_. No rude names or teasing laughs were involved.

“Yep.” Louis smiled warmly, despite his wariness towards Harry. He tucked the book he was holding away in its proper slot and looked around for a bit, quickly plucking out the sequel to it after he found it. He held it out to Harry. “Here you go. I read it last year. I think it’s better than the first one, maybe because everything falls into place in this. Like, you find out what was really wrong with the Jonah. And his girlfriend leaves the picture, you know? She was a bother anyway, and…” Louis looked around cautiously, “a bit of a whore.”

Louis pretended not to notice the way Harry smirked, but he _did_ see the glint in his eyes, one that looked like pure interest and even a little adoration. “Yeah?” He inquired, his head tilting slightly to the right as he took the novel from Louis. “Yeah, I really liked the first one, but I guess if you say the second one is better it will be, right? Don’t you read a lot? I see you sitting around often.”

Louis nodded slowly, a blush creeping up his neck and burning bright on his cheeks. It was true – Louis read absolutely _everywhere_ he could, always engrossed in some form of text. “Yeah, you could say that,” he admitted shyly, shrugging his shoulders. “But I think you will like the sequel. It’s good.”

“Thanks.” Harry smiled largely at him, his eyes raking along Louis’ face, studying him like he was a dinner menu. “Your, uh, your book bag was the one Liam threw this morning, right?”

“That would be me.”

“Right. Sorry.” Harry’s smile turned apologetic, and he rubbed at the fuzzy, fake ears that were atop his head. “I saw. I’m sorry, I would have stepped in if he wasn’t my mentor for hockey, you know? I need him.”

“Yeah, I get it, Harry,” Louis sighed, pulling off his glasses and cleaning them quickly before slipping them back onto his face, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s no big deal.” He smoothed out his shirt and cleared his throat, turning to leave. “I’ll just go back to my seat. I want to finish another chapter before the bell rings.”

“Wait,” Harry said quickly, taking one large step and planting himself right behind Louis, a hand lightly touching his arm. “Are you going to the party tonight?”

Louis immediately shook his head, turning around. He wasn’t one to attend parties, he was usually shut in his room studying or reading. Tonight, and like every Halloween, he would take his younger sisters out to trick-or-treat. He told Harry this, trying to look upset even though he really wasn’t, not one bit. “I wasn’t invited, anyway,” he added for good measure, chewing at his bottom lip.

“You don’t need to be invited, Louis. It’s for anyone to attend. You have to wear a costume, though.” Harry grinned and tapped at his kitty ears, his curls bouncing like they were alive. “A girl gave these to me this morning. Said I needed to get into the spirit, or something like that.”

Louis smiled a little, looking up at Harry’s head. “I like them. I don’t have a costume, though, so I can’t go. _Uh-oh_.” Louis shrugged his shoulders up high and turned to leave again, but he was pulled back once more and something was put into his hair. “Hey–”

“There you go. Kitty Louis. Cute.” Harry smiled and stepped back, waving his new book in the air. “I hope to maybe see you at the party. Maybe you could get someone else to take your sisters out tonight? I don’t know. Thank you for the book, also.”

“Uh, y-yeah, you’re welcome,” Louis found himself stammering, blushing profoundly and giggling to himself. Harry flashed another dimpled grin before leaving towards the checkout line. Harry wanted him at the party?

Maybe he would try to get someone to take his sisters out.

.

.

.

                After an entire hour and a half of searching, Louis finally found clothes that were decent enough to wear as a costume. He’d wrecked his whole closet and drawers and eventually pulled out a pair of tight, one-size-too-small-but-whatever black jeans, a black and white striped sweater, and a pair of shiny black suspenders that Louis never remembered getting. He still had the kitty ears that Harry had lent him, so Louis figured he’d wear that, too.

He could be some sort of half-hybrid, half-sailor boy.

It was seven-thirty when Louis was all clean and ready to go, but the party had apparently started at seven on the dot. He fixed his glasses before leaving the room, waving to his sisters on the way out the front door, who were going to be accompanied by the neighbor’s older daughter for trick-or-treating.

“You look cute, Lou. Dressing up for a boy?” Lottie cooed, fixing the princess gown that Daisy was sporting.

“Absolutely not,” Louis snapped, but he winked at his sister as he shut the door behind him.

The walk to Cher’s house wasn’t very far at all, Louis’ home being in the second-class part of the large neighborhood he lived in. Fellow classmates were pouring out of their houses as well, chatting up an excited storm. Louis was glad he was walking alone, his head down to block out the fierce October winds.

He wasn’t even in the front yard when he heard music; it was blasting from every which way, it seemed. It hurt Louis’ ears but he decided to suck it up, because the party itself looked interesting.

Girls strutted around the yard, dressed in intimidating outfits as they dragged boys by their shirts into secluded corners. Jocks were wrestling in the grass, shouting profanities, laughing deeply. A young couple was hitting it off in the driveway, while a handful of boys stood strangely nearby, chuckling as they drank from the infamous red SOLO cup. Louis couldn’t help but smile as he weaved his way around the men rolling on the grass, because teenagers were just so dumb. He pushed his way into the house, politely apologizing for interrupting a conversation.

_Well, maybe they shouldn’t have been standing in front of the damn door._

The music got louder when he was in the house, and the scene was even worse inside than it was out in the yard. It was already trashed, more people were wresting, tons of kids were laughing, and every once in a while there was an ear piercing scream.

Holy hell.

Louis took a deep breath, bunching the ends of his shirt sleeves in the palms of his hands. He wasn’t out of place with his costume, for some people were wearing bed sheets, and nothing but. A few people weren’t wearing a costume at all. It made Louis subconsciously touch his kitty headband.

He made his way past the threshold and into the living room, sitting on the couch and placing his hands in his lap. He just studied the kids in the house, watching the sluts, giggling at the jokesters, and rolling his eyes at the boys who touched girls without their consent.

At exactly seven-fifty-two – he had just checked his watch – Louis heard a shriek, and a boy was pushed out of the double doors of the kitchen. He stumbled into the living room, being shoved by a couple other guys, and he kept tripping over his feet until he eventually fell to the floor in a fit of giggles and protests. Within seconds, the two boys were on top of him, and another wrestling match took place.

Louis could only watch. He pulled his feet up into the seat as to not interrupt, watching as the three boys play-fought, their punches light and slow and dramatic. The victim of the fight was rolling around on the carpet, clutching something close to his chest, and it wasn’t until that item was ripped from his hands and thrown at the coffee table that the poor boy spoke up.

“My _book_!” He squealed, his arms and legs flying in an attempt to ward off the kids surrounding him. Each head popped up one by one as the ‘wrestlers’ sat up; Liam first, then Zayn, and then–

Harry?

“My book! Where is it, guys? I need that!” Louis could tell it was Harry by the mop of curls that fell over the boy’s eyes. He crawled along the floor, looking for his book, and he pouted when Zayn and Liam left with snickers, unwilling  to help.

“Harry, here,” Louis whispered, pushing himself and bending down, retrieving the paperback novel that had fallen near the table that had been pushed out of the way. He smiled as he held the book out to Harry, looking down at the boy, who was still on his knees.

“Oh, hey, Lou!” Harry shot to his feet, beaming largely as he took the book from Louis. “Oh gosh, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve something to show you. It’s so amazing.” In an instant he grabbed Louis’ arm, looked around, and snatched the bowl of sweets that sat on the coffee table before pulling the elder out of the living room.

The two boys made their way through the big house; up one set of stairs, down the hall where Louis heard noises that made him blush hard, and up one more set of stairs. It was much, much quieter up here. Only a couple of people had found their way to the third floor.

“Harry, will you – will you let me go, please?” Louis stumbled nervously over his words, wondering what Harry just _had_ to show him. “You’re hurting my wrist, H- _Hazza_.”

“I’m sorry. I like the nickname, though. And your costume. It’s cute.” Harry flashed a smile as he released Louis’ wrist, turning towards a door that had no inappropriate noises coming from it, _thank god_. “It’s, what, eight o’clock now? Based off of last year’s arrest spree, the cops should be here in a couple of hours. We’ve a little time.”

Louis continued to blush, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He didn’t want to get arrested, no he did not. He’d just have to leave early. “Uh – all…all right.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you get in trouble.” Harry chuckled as he opened the door, darkness pouring out of it. It made Louis nervous when the younger boy looked around suspiciously – the girls downstairs had done the exact same thing before they pulled their lovers into any nearby closet.

“What’s this?” Louis whispered, his voice not even heard over the music that was rocking the house. He followed Harry into the room without hesitation, his curiosity overriding his doubt.

“’M gonna close the door, and then turn the lights on, so don’t go anywhere,” Harry instructed, ignoring Louis’ question, and once the door shut with a click, the room was enveloped in utter darkness, black, black, black. But all too soon, and it caused Louis’ eyes to burn, Harry flicked on the light. Louis immediately rubbed at his eyes.

“Look, Louis!” Harry exclaimed, throwing an arm around the smaller boy’s waist. When Louis opened his eyes he gasped, a slow, progressively huge smile growing on his face.

This was the biggest in-home library he’d ever seen.

“Holy…shit,” Louis breathed, leaving Harry’s grasp and taking a step forward, looking around. This was bigger than the library at school, with so many old and dusty looking books. Some were in good shape, and some looked so raggedy that Louis wasn’t sure if they were readable.

He loved it.

“Do you like it? According to Cher, her dad is the only one who ever uses this room,” Harry said quietly, moving to stand beside Louis. He stared down at the boy and Louis smiled right back up at him. He noticed then that Harry wasn’t wearing a costume, although he had his hockey jersey on. Louis would be one big liar if he said that Harry didn’t look incredibly attractive.

“It’s so amazing, Harry. Goodness.” Louis shook his head in disbelief, wanting to read each and every one of the books in here.  None of them were his, though, and he didn’t have permission. This bummed him out a little. “Thanks for showing me this. But should we go back downstairs in case anyone’s looking for you?”

“Of course not!” Harry laughed, shaking his head. He crossed the room, and in the middle of the large space, stood a small red couch and a single desk with a lamp on it. “Stay in here with me.”

“None of these are ours.”

“Ah – who cares? We won’t mess up anything.” Harry half smiled, one dimple appearing and making Louis’ heart flutter, which felt like a punch in the gut

“All right…” Louis played with his fingers as he slowly went to join Harry, his eyes grazing over the thousands of old books before him. “What will we do? Since we’ve got…two hours, I guess, ‘till the police come?”

“ _Well_ , we’ve got a bowl full of candy, hundreds and hundreds of books, some pretty nice music downstairs, and you can hardly hear the people fucking next door.” Harry shrugged and cleared his throat, smiling shyly now as he pulled out the book that had been taken from him earlier. “So, Louis, will you please share this wonderful Halloween evening with me?”

Louis’ eyes widened and he nodded, his feet taking him to Harry on his own. All suspicions towards Harry before were _gone_. This seemed like the real Harry, and Louis really liked it. “I’d love to.”

.

.

.

                Louis had picked up seven books from the many shelves that took up the room. They were big and dusty and some of the pages were ripped out, but the stories themselves were nothing Louis had ever seen. Some were romantic to a brilliant extent, some so mysterious it made Louis want to scream, and some downright heartbreaking. He was torn between reading the books and staring at Harry, who read his own book from the school library, a small smile on his face.

He sat with Harry on the on the small couch – Harry laying one way with his knees propped up in the middle, and Louis on the other side. Their feet dug into each other’s, and every once in a while, they played a subconscious game of footsie.

The library shut out quite a lot of noise. The walls were thick enough to muffle the sounds coming from the rooms next door, and the music was all the way downstairs, so the two could only hear faint song lyrics. Other than that, things were silent and peaceful.

Harry reached over to the small desk where the bowl of candy sat, plucking out a Kit-Kat and devouring it within fifteen seconds. He’d been eating a lot of candy, humming in satisfaction with each chew. Louis had found out that he especially liked Hershey’s Kisses, and when Louis had reached to grab his own, Harry quickly batted his hand away. “Those are mine,” he declared, and with a shy smile, Louis nodded and picked up a Jolly Rancher instead.

An hour had passed since Harry and Louis entered the library, and when Louis had had enough of one novel, he put it down, heaving a sigh. He’d alreadyskimmed through two of the seven he’d picked out. He watched Harry as he read, observing the way he played with his curls as he concentrated on the words in the book. He bit his plump, pink lips, occasionally frowning, sometimes grinning.

Louis really liked Harry. He really did. He was so pretty.

“What’s up, Lou?” Harry asked, his eyes tearing away from the pages and meeting with Louis’. He smirked a little, closing his novel and tossing it onto the desk, rattling the bowl of candy. “I caught you looking. Are you done reading?”

Louis shook his head quickly, blushing hard. “No, I wasn’t…I wasn’t done yet. I was just taking a break; I get a headache if I read for too long sometimes. But we can leave if you want to.”

Harry smiled softly, shrugging his shoulders. He grabbed the candy bowl, setting it in his lap. “I don’t want to leave yet.” He held out the orange plastic bowl. “Want one?”

Louis nodded, setting his own book carefully on the floor next to the other ones he’d gotten. He smiled and took another piece of candy. “Why won’t you let me have the Kisses?” He whined with a playful pout, tearing open a Kit-Kat and popping it into his mouth.

“I don’t know. I just really like them. I used to always see my mum and dad eating them together on Halloween. That was before they divorced.” Harry pulled out a Kiss, rolling it around in his fingers. “I think it’s a really romantic piece of candy. It’s like a literal kiss, just with lips instead of chocolate. If you get a Kiss, the person who gave it to you wanted to kiss you, is what I think.” He looked up at Louis and chuckled, blushing lightly. “I feel like I have to save them for myself so people don’t eat them like they’re normal pieces of chocolate.”

Louis giggled, combing his fingers through his hair and rubbing his cat ears. He picked up his books and brushed dust off of them; now he was ready to put them away. He wanted to talk to Harry in this wonderful place, not so keen on reading now. “But they _are_ normal pieces of chocolate,” he cooed, looking down at the candy bowl, where dozens more of Hershey’s Kisses sat. “You’re right, though. It _is_ pretty romantic when you put it like that.”

“Yep.”

Harry kept his eyes locked on Louis’, and he wasn’t afraid to look straight back at him. He listened carefully as the song changed to _Closer_ by Tegan and Sara. Harry smiled largely at this. “Do you wanna dance with me?” He asked, rising to his feet.

“Oh, no. No, no, no. I’ll pass.” Louis was a spluttering mess as he protested, but it was as if Harry couldn’t hear him as he was tugged up off the couch and pulled towards an emptier space of the library. “I can’t dance, Harry,” he mumbled, clinging to the boy, his arms on his biceps, head on his chest. How he was able to get so close to Harry, he didn’t know. It felt like it was supposed to happen, though.

“It’s okay. Neither do I. We can just stand here, if you’d like.” Harry’s arms snaked around Louis’ thin waist and pulled him closer, and Louis nearly purred in content.

The two swayed from side to side, and Louis wasn’t thinking about anything but how he felt in Harry’s arms. He felt safe, like there wasn’t any way that he could be picked on as long as he was where he was now. Occasionally the two of them laughed, one tripping over the others’ feet, and Harry spun Louis once before pulling him flush to his chest once more.

Hell, this wasn’t even a slow song.

When _Closer_ went off, and after three more songs, Louis slowly pulled away from Harry, feeling a little dizzy, airy, and very, very happy. “I think I should go home,” he said quietly, squeezing Harry’s arm before leaving his side to put away his books. “My mum will be looking for me.”

“Okay, Louis,” Harry hummed, making his way to the couch and getting the bowl of candy. “I’ll walk you to the door? It’s probably mental down there.”

Louis chuckled and nodded, slowly walking around the shelves and sticking the books where he had found them. He turned around when the deed was done, wiping his hands on his sweater. “Yeah, I don’t want to get caught up in the ruckus when-slash-if the police come, right?”

“No, you wouldn’t want that. You ready?”

“Uh-huh.”

.

.

.

                Harry walked close to Louis, a hand on the lad’s lower back almost protectively. It wasn’t much of a trouble getting to the front door, for half of the kids that were mucking around were now passed out on any flat surface. Anyone who wasn’t unconscious was away with a kid of the opposite sex, or, in one case, the same sex.

“This was fun,” Louis gushed, looking up at Harry when they stopped in front of the front door. “I’m glad I came.” He ran a hand through his hair, nudging the kitty headband, and he pulled it off. “Hey – do you want this back?”

“No, keep it.” Harry laughed, rummaging through the candy bowl and pulling out another piece of candy, unwrapping and eating it. This boy had quite a sweet tooth. “It looks better on you. I’m glad you had fun.”

“Alright,” Louis said over the loud, thumping music, opening the front door. He wanted to see Harry again. He really was a good guy. “I’ll see you at school on Monday. Happy Halloween.”

Before Louis could leave, Harry grabbed his wrist – which he _had_ to stop doing, it always scared Louis – and pulled him back. He placed something in Louis’ hand, murmuring out, “Take this for me?” before closing Louis’ fingers to make a fist.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Louis chuckled awkwardly, prying his hand away from Harry and turning around, stepping around a few paper cups and a pizza box to descend the front stoop. “Have a good night, Hazza.”

“Yeah, you, too.” Harry tipped an invisible hat on his head, smiling all dimply and making Louis want to swoon. “Happy Halloween to you, too.”

Louis waved before heading down the driveway, feeling giddy like this had been the best night of his life. He waited until he couldn’t see Cher’s house anymore before opening his palm, curious as to what exactly Harry wanted him to take.

It was a Hershey’s Kiss, its aluminum foil shining bright in the moonlight.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
